I remember we had the late great LaMar Kuhns (German Shepherd Dog handler extraordinaire) over for supper at our house one time. He was going to be giving a speech at our club, The GSDC of Greater New Haven. Anyone who knew LaMar could expect anything and everything out of this colorful man’s mouth. He was quick with a comeback and had an answer for everything concerning the breed. He knew what it took to win which was evident in his show record.
So we’re sitting at the dinner table with LaMar and we’re talking about which dogs were winning at the time. All of a sudden, he comes out with “Give me the spook any day, because you know they’re going to be moving around the ring.” Was he promoting the spooky dog? No, but just stating a fact that some dogs can be too sound and find the show ring a boring place to be. Years ago, temperament wasn’t pushed as much as it in the show rings today. It would be harder to get the “spook” past the discerning eye of today's judges. Oh, some of the very well trained ones still get through, but today’s judges are more on the look out for disagreeable temperaments.
I have a friend who owns a champion group winning dog and she and I were talking about this very subject the other day. After a couple of days of showing, her dog becomes bored with it and is not enthusiastic about running around in circles anymore. Her dog has a marvelous temperament, but showing has never been high on his list of fun things to do.
I believe we can train dogs to be show dogs, but I don’t believe we can train all of them to be ‘exciting’ show dogs. There are show dogs and then there are “special” show dogs. What makes them special is their will to win. They have that “look at me, aren’t I special” kind of attitude. They ask for the win, and unless they ask for the win, they won’t be garnering any Select or Best in Show accomplishments. This is what makes them stand out from the rest. The other dog might even be the better dog, but unless he makes the judge take another look, he’ll get run over by the one who is asking for it.
Is this “will to win” type of personality born or made? I believe that they are born. In every litter, there are a few who stand out above all the rest in personality. These are the rascals in the litter. They’re lively and spunky and are usually the ones who are getting into trouble. They’re mischievous and full of life wanting to know about the world around them. They’re inquisitive and usually very smart. They have a will to please their master. Many times they are the alpha of the litter and are jealous and possessive for the owner’s affection. They are the ones that if they could talk would be saying, “Look at me, look at me.” They have that, “Well (ain’t) I somethin’ written all over them!”
Once you know that this is the one, the wise breeder starts teaching the puppy how to “double handle” by playing hide and seek with him. He teaches the puppy to seek him out; to look for him. He rewards him with treats and lots of love and affection and affirmations about how wonderful he is. This is the type of puppy that eats this stuff up. His main purpose in life is to please you.
To be a winner, the dog should be sound in temperament, but also have a lively happy kind of personality. I’ve pulled dogs from continuing their show career because they weren’t fond of the show ring. Two come to my mind. One was a drop dead gorgeous looking dog that would always attract the judges and crowds eye as soon as he stepped into the ring. Jimmy was showing him and told me he’d have no problem finishing him. Only thing is my dog had other ideas. A couple of times around the ring, and then he would no longer put out and instead of pulling out on the lead, decided running next to his handler was all he was going to do. Gorgeous dog…..awful show dog! Then I had a bitch that would rather run up to the judge, tail never stopped wagging as she greeted everyone, but a couple of times around the ring and she too stayed along side the handler rather than pull out in front of her. Both lovely animals but it wasn’t worth the aggravation for me to show them. Both good temperaments, but they would rather be home lying in front of the fireplace.
My rating: the dogs with the attitude: (4), sound dog, but no attitude: (2)
Showing posts with label show dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label show dogs. Show all posts
Friday, September 18, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
CLICKER DOG TRAINING & THE FINE ART OF DOUBLE HANDLING
Alright I’ve got a confession to make. Right here, right now I shamefully admit that after all these years I am still the worlds worst double handler you would ever want to see. I am every professional handler’s worst nightmare. So there; I’ve said it. It’s out in the open now. So about three years ago, I tell a long time friend of mine my dilemma. She is probably one of the best double handlers in the German Shepherd Dog show world having had a couple of selects and champions to prove what she does works. Under normal circumstances, she has this little meek, mousy kind of a voice that when she raises it to call her dog becomes this shrill that you can hear all over the show ring. I experienced this first hand at a National many years ago when one of her dogs went Select #3. So imagine my surprise when at a National a few years ago, her dog goes Select #2 and not once did I hear her high pitched shrill! I wanted to know how she did that. That’s when she shared her secret with me…………the clicker!
“Just what the heck is a clicker,” I asked her. Turns out it’s this little mechanical device that fits in the palm of your hand that when you press on it, it makes this short click sound. It’s not loud and can easily be carried in your pocket. So she was kind enough and sent me a couple in the mail for my inspection. I walked around the house clicking this little contraption and immediately my dogs responded and searched for the object that interrupted whatever it was that they were doing. It did not take long at all for them to respond each time I clicked on the clicker. I took them for rides in the car and when I came out of the store, I had the clicker in my pocket and as soon as I pressed on it, the dog would sit upright looking for me. I played hide and seek with them and clicked on the clicker and the game was on. I used this to double handle my girl in the futurity, although she has enough energy without the clicker, but it just helped for her to know where I was.
For those of you who follow my blog who are not familiar with double handling, we “semi-sane” German Shepherd Dog show people do this to make our dogs look alert. We want them to stand pretty in the show ring to help give them a little edge on the competition. It also helps to encourage them to move around the ring with enthusiasm.
Now the clicker was not invented with the German Shepherd Dog show person in mind. It was invented for training dogs to do commands more easily. It helps teach the dog that if he does a command that he will be rewarded for it. Some may question why not just teach the dog with a verbal command. The answer seems to be that with the clicker training the dog only associates it with one thing. That one thing is that he is going to be rewarded when he does the command. We all know that dogs love to get rewards and will do most anything to receive them. Unlike the verbal command which can vary in pitch, the clicker always sounds the same so the dog always associates it with something good. The reward can be anything from a piece of food, to playing with the dog or lavishing him with lots of affection. The end result is always something good.
Does the clicker training replace the verbal command? No, it doesn’t. The animal learns the verbal command as well. For instance, you teach him the word sit. When he does the command, you click the clicker and reward the dog. Once the dog knows the command very well, the clicker no longer needs to be used for that particular instruction. Then you can move onto a new command.
The clicker training method has become so popular that it can and is used on other animals as well as dogs. Dolphins respond very well to clicker training as do cats, birds, rabbits, etc.
Do any of you readers use the Clicker training method? I’d like to hear what you have to say about it if you do.
Clickers are very inexpensive and you can buy them at Clicker.com or Amazon. They can range in price from $1.50 to a few dollars.
My rating: durability: (3), ease of training: (4), value: (4)
“Just what the heck is a clicker,” I asked her. Turns out it’s this little mechanical device that fits in the palm of your hand that when you press on it, it makes this short click sound. It’s not loud and can easily be carried in your pocket. So she was kind enough and sent me a couple in the mail for my inspection. I walked around the house clicking this little contraption and immediately my dogs responded and searched for the object that interrupted whatever it was that they were doing. It did not take long at all for them to respond each time I clicked on the clicker. I took them for rides in the car and when I came out of the store, I had the clicker in my pocket and as soon as I pressed on it, the dog would sit upright looking for me. I played hide and seek with them and clicked on the clicker and the game was on. I used this to double handle my girl in the futurity, although she has enough energy without the clicker, but it just helped for her to know where I was.
For those of you who follow my blog who are not familiar with double handling, we “semi-sane” German Shepherd Dog show people do this to make our dogs look alert. We want them to stand pretty in the show ring to help give them a little edge on the competition. It also helps to encourage them to move around the ring with enthusiasm.
Now the clicker was not invented with the German Shepherd Dog show person in mind. It was invented for training dogs to do commands more easily. It helps teach the dog that if he does a command that he will be rewarded for it. Some may question why not just teach the dog with a verbal command. The answer seems to be that with the clicker training the dog only associates it with one thing. That one thing is that he is going to be rewarded when he does the command. We all know that dogs love to get rewards and will do most anything to receive them. Unlike the verbal command which can vary in pitch, the clicker always sounds the same so the dog always associates it with something good. The reward can be anything from a piece of food, to playing with the dog or lavishing him with lots of affection. The end result is always something good.
Does the clicker training replace the verbal command? No, it doesn’t. The animal learns the verbal command as well. For instance, you teach him the word sit. When he does the command, you click the clicker and reward the dog. Once the dog knows the command very well, the clicker no longer needs to be used for that particular instruction. Then you can move onto a new command.
The clicker training method has become so popular that it can and is used on other animals as well as dogs. Dolphins respond very well to clicker training as do cats, birds, rabbits, etc.
Do any of you readers use the Clicker training method? I’d like to hear what you have to say about it if you do.
Clickers are very inexpensive and you can buy them at Clicker.com or Amazon. They can range in price from $1.50 to a few dollars.
My rating: durability: (3), ease of training: (4), value: (4)
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